Chapter 12

The Jiang'an Auto Repair Factory, under the leadership of the Provincial Party Committee, obtained a 5 million yuan interest-free loan from the provincial bank to build a car manufacturing plant with an annual production capacity of 3,000 cars.

This shocking news immediately stirred up over a hundred large and small enterprises in the provincial capital.

With a population of over 5 million in the entire Bin City, everyone was inquiring about this Jiang'an Auto Repair Factory, wondering what kind of place it was!

"Ha ha ha... Old Zheng, we're awesome!" Chang Yuanting looked at the Provincial Capital Daily, where their news was prominently featured on the front page, and burst into laughter.

On the front page of the newspaper, in a prominent position, it read: "Under the glorious leadership of... our province's first car manufacturing plant, after diligent research, has successfully produced the first domestically-made car with leading domestic technology, filling the gap in our province..."

Below was a black-and-white photo showing a shiny black car, along with the factory leaders and workers. Lin Qiangsheng, wearing a large red flower, stood behind the car in a way that was hard to understand.

Zheng Yongmin also laughed happily, "The interest-free loan from the province is also very inspiring! When have we ever been worth 5 million yuan?"

Chang Yuanting smiled and waved his hand, but then said worriedly, "I've calculated it. 5 million yuan can barely build a factory with an annual production capacity of 1,000 cars. 3,000 cars are not enough. What should we do?"

Zheng Yongmin laughed, "Don't worry about that. The 3,000 car target set by the province is to motivate us to catch up with the Shanghai Auto Factory. They reached an annual production of over 2,500 cars in 1975. We shouldn't be too anxious; being too anxious won't help. You can't get fat overnight."

"Oh? Is that so!" Chang Yuanting was surprised and then laughed.

Zheng Yongmin said, "I was thinking, should we change the factory name? Calling it Jiang'an Auto Factory doesn't seem quite right!"

Chang Yuanting smiled and said, "You're right. The name 'Jiang'an' isn't grand enough and doesn't sound like a car factory name."

The two of them thought for a moment, and then Zheng Yongmin said, "Let's call Lin Qiangsheng over. Let him come up with a factory name. This kid is smart; he might come up with a good name. Our Jetta car name received a lot of praise!"

Chang Yuanting thought about the articles in the media praising the Jetta car name, one after another. Not only in their remote province, but even in neighboring provinces, they reported on their factory. It could be said that their auto repair factory became famous overnight because of the car they produced.

Truly, decades of hard work are not as good as launching a big satellite!

Lin Qiangsheng was called to Zheng Yongmin's office. Zheng Yongmin smiled and asked, "Qiangsheng, can you think of a good name for our car factory?"

Chang Yuanting said, "Think of something grand, something that people will remember when they hear it, and it should be easy to say!"

Zheng Yongmin nodded and said, "Yes, it should be easy to say!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "That's easy, I've already thought of it!"

Zheng Yongmin said happily, "Oh? Don't keep us in suspense, just say it."

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and looked at the two factory leaders, then said loudly, "Volkswagen, Volkswagen Auto Factory, how about that?"

Chang Yuanting silently repeated it and said, "It doesn't sound very impressive."

Zheng Yongmin also said, "Volkswagen Auto Factory sounds very ordinary!"

"Uh, is that so?!" Lin Qiangsheng scratched his head.

Could it be that the Chinese don't like the word 'Volkswagen'? It's rarely used, and it's usually associated with the masses, which isn't a good term.

Like the current Red Flag Auto Factory and Dongfeng Auto Factory. Red Flag and Dongfeng sound powerful and strong, but Volkswagen sounds too plain.

Zheng Yongmin repeated it a few times, nodded, and said, "Let's use this name for now. We'll report it and see what the leaders think. The factory name isn't something we can decide alone."

Lin Qiangsheng nodded, chuckled, and asked, "Leaders, I heard the loan has been approved? Why is it so little? Only 5 million yuan?"

Chang Yuanting laughed, "5 million yuan is still too little? How much do you want?"

Lin Qiangsheng said, "At least 10 million yuan."

Zheng Yongmin and Chang Yuanting exchanged smiles, and Zheng Yongmin said, "10 million yuan isn't much either! If you ask me, 50 million yuan would be better! To build a large and strong car factory at once would be even better! But I don't have the final say. The province only provided this much."

Lin Qiangsheng smiled but didn't say anything. Perhaps the higher authorities thought that 5 million yuan was a good investment for such a small factory.

Soon, the provincial government established a car factory construction leadership group.

Led by the second-in-charge of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary Yang, who was responsible for industrial construction in the province, the group was headed by the Director of the Industry Bureau, Qin Qidong, and a senior engineer invited from Harbin Engineering University served as the chief designer. They moved into the Jiang'an Auto Repair Factory to carry out overall renovations.

"Comrades, the province is very concerned about us! This is Director Qin from the Industry Bureau, who is also the head of our car factory construction group. Let's give him a warm welcome!" Zheng Yongmin said loudly from the podium.

Amidst the enthusiastic applause, Qin Qidong stood up and clapped warmly.

Facing the entire workforce and their families, about 400 to 500 people in total, he was also very excited.

He never expected that a campaign to learn from the Daqing spirit would yield such a golden nugget!

At this moment, he thought, "If I, Qin Qidong, seize this opportunity and build the car factory, won't I have even more opportunities for advancement!"

"Comrades, after your diligent research and hard work, you have successfully produced our province's first car. This is the pride of the entire factory, the city, and the province!"

...

"After the approval of the higher authorities, it has been decided to provide the Jiang'an Auto Repair Factory with a 5 million yuan interest-free loan. Led by the province, I, Qin Qidong, will serve as the group leader, and we will work together to build the car factory. I hope everyone will continue to work hard and build our factory well, just like the car we built!"

Amidst the enthusiastic applause from the workers and their families sitting on small stools, everyone was so excited that they almost jumped for joy if not for the discipline.

Group Leader Qin led the two factory leaders to the western wall.

He held a hammer and called out loudly, "I hereby announce the establishment of the Jiang'an Auto Factory! Let's start the construction!"

The masters and apprentices, holding hammers and shovels, shouted loudly, "Let's start the construction!"

The province specifically issued a directive to allow the car factory to expand 500 meters to the west, which was a piece of wasteland by the river.

Qin Qidong raised the hammer and struck the western wall forcefully, "Bang..." A hole appeared in the brick wall.

The masters and apprentices started chiseling the wall with a loud clatter.

Qin Qidong handed the hammer to Chang Yuanting, and Zheng Yongmin smiled and invited Group Leader Qin to the office.

Seeing Group Leader Qin leave, Chang Yuanting quickly shouted, "Stop, stop, don't break it! Damn, stop!" He pushed aside a master and made him stop.

The masters and apprentices stopped and looked at him, confused.

"Don't break it, we still need the bricks! Just knock down the wall!" Chang Yuanting whispered.

"Oh!" The masters and apprentices finally understood that the bricks were still needed.